


Happy Tears

by Karliah



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Actually...a lot of Angst, Bullying, Comfort, Death Eater - Freeform, Death Eater!Reader, F/M, Interactive, Reader-Insert, Romance, Self-Harm, Swearing, Thoughts about suicide, Triggers:, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 23:30:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7457920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karliah/pseuds/Karliah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[After The War, Seventh (actual) Year at Hogwarts]<br/>Nightmares haunt him every night. The mark on his arm  - a sign for everyone to stay away from him.<br/>He is lonely. The great Draco Malfoy is lonely. Even the most unpopular Slytherins shun him.</p><p>....and then there's you. You're one of the few seventh year Slytherins. As a matter of fact, you're always been one of the nicer people from your house. Most of the time, you preferred to help first years instead of annoying them. You've befriended students from all the different houses over the years - not that you were overly social, it was just your personality that attracted people. They could vent all their problems to you and you would listen. You would comfort them and help them with their personal problems without ever telling a soul about their secrets.<br/>However, there is one thing nobody knows about you. You are a Death Eater.</p><p>One day, your secret is revealed by a stupid accident. How will everyone react? What will you do? What will Draco think?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Tears

**Happy Tears**

 

When Hogwarts was rebuilt and everything went somewhat back to normal, Draco wasn't sure if he should go back to his old school. After everything he was forced to do, he wasn't sure if he could face any of his classmates ever again. In the end, he decided that if he wanted to work in the Ministry of Magic, he would have to finish his seventh year at Hogwarts.

 

•••

 

As he sat down in one of the cabins in the train to his old school, he quickly noticed that nobody else wanted to sit with him. Every student, no matter if they were his former 'friends' or complete strangers, sneered at him and hurried along to find a place to sit. Ah yes, Draco Malfoy was a lonely young man. Several minutes passed until the train started moving. His steely grey eyes were staring outside, watching the greenery flash by. It was cold and stormy outside; fairly large raindrops were streaming down the window, making the scenery rather blurry. A sigh escaped his pale lips as he rested his head on top of his icy palm.

It was strange, really - this feeling of losing one's identity. As a child, he thought himself to be the popular bad guy, a superior young wizard from a well-known and wealthy pureblood-family. Oh, how wrong he was. Now, after spending a little over six years of terrorizing other students, bullying 'mudbloods' and picking on Saint Potter, he realized that all he had left was the title of a bad boy. No 'Prince of Slytherin', no popularity and certainly no superiority. Draco was ashamed. Ashamed of his actions. His family. His mark. Since everybody seemed to have found their seat, nobody walked through the train's aisles anymore, allowing him to lift his sleeve, revealing the disgrace that was on his arm.

He was so absorbed in glaring at the Dark Mark that he didn't notice a girl opening the door to his compartment. Only when it closed with a soft 'click', he quickly covered his arm again and his head jerked upwards, finding a young woman about his age standing in front of him. She softly nodded at him as if to say hello, the slightest of smiles tugging at her lips. She didn't need to ask if any of the seats were taken, she knew they were free, so she sat down and turned her head to the window. Draco's face was red from embarrassment. He didn't want anyone to see the ugly tattoo.

After half an hour had passed, he was surprised that she hadn't sneered at him, insulted him or anything of the sorts yet. However, he didn't want to start a conversation, for he was afraid that she'd do just that if he dared to talk to her.

_It's one year, I'll survive._

Oh, Draco...

•••

 

He found out later that her name was [Y/N] [L/N], a proud member of a neutral pureblood-family; the blonde male was surprised that he never really noticed her before, given her bloodstatus and the fact that she was also in Slytherin.

...Bloodstatus. What a tainted word. Draco closed his burning eyes; he swore to himself that he'd never use it again. A strong voice made him look up - he sat on the long Slytherin table in the Great Hall - and after a bit of looking around, he found Professor McGonagall, the new headmistress of Hogwarts... because Dumbledore was killed. Killed because of _him_. Nausea washed over him, leaving a stale taste behind. The things he did...

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin with the banquet, I'd like to announce a few things first." She continued to hold a speech about the war, its losses and tragic deaths of families, friends and classmates. Not able to listen to the words of sadness and grief, Draco spaced out. If only things would have been a little bit different... He didn't know how long he kept staring at the plain wooden table in front of him and frankly, he did not care. Perhaps it was a bad idea to return to Hogwarts. Loud clapping teared him out of his thoughts - Professor McGonagall's speech was over. Sad smiles and frowns were etched on every face he could see.

"However, it is not wise to dwell on the past, yet that does not imply to forget what happened by any means. Let's move onward instead. There are going to be many changes this year, the biggest difference being the new allocation of dorm rooms for every sixth and seventh year student. As there are not enough students to efficiently make use of the rooms in Slytherin and Gryffindor and the dorm rooms for the older students in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw have been destroyed, we decided to assign mixed dorm rooms in a seperate part of the building." _Please, no. Don't do this to me._ He spaced out again, running his fingers through his already messy hair. "...and now for the sorting ceremony."

In the end, Slytherin got eleven new students. None of them dared to sit remotely close to Draco. Actually, nobody sat close to Draco; he was all singled out. Lifting his gaze from the ground, he searched the table for the first years, smiling ever so slightly when he found them. Instead of returning the friendly gesture, they quickly looked away, scared out of their wits. His smile quickly faded and before the feast began, he left the Great Hall, feeling the stares of every member of the school on his back, not even noticing the sad expression on a certain [s/c] face... It was going to be a long year.

 

•••

 

Several days had passed; every student had their assigned dorm room and timetables. Draco hated it altogether. Of course they made him live together with Potter and Weasley. Whenever he entered the room, he kept his gaze glued to the ground, not wanting to see the glares they were giving him. At night, when everyone was asleep and his curtains closed, small sobs escaped his throat. Little did he know that the Boy Who Lived was very much awake, witnessing this new side of him.

The next day was a Sunday, allowing every student to have a day off. Since he didn't want to face any of his classmates, he went to the library and spent his free time there. The likeliness of anyone being here was pretty low as the school year had just begun and there weren't any tests coming up that had to be studied for. However, he failed to take that one person into consideration that _always_ studied. As he wandered through the various aisles, looking for a decent book, he almost ran face-first into Hermione.

_Perhaps I could apologize, now that nobody's here to witness this..._

Draco cringed. After all these years, the idea of mud- muggleborns and purebloods being equal was something he had yet to get used to. While he struggled to find the right words, Hermione stared at him wide-eyed. He _did_ despise her for her bloodstatus and he _was_ a Death Eater after all.

"I-I, uhm...I know this is really awkward, but...", he finally managed to mumble, "I want to apologize...for...what I did and...uhm, the things I said. I should not have done that." Wow, he did it. Although his tongue felt as if it had a dozen knots in it and he was tempted to run away when seeing her shocked expression, he forced himself to stay. Before the smart witch had a chance to reply, her two friends appeared behind Hermione, obviously looking for her.

"Is everything alright? Did he hurt you?", Ron immediately asked, not bothered that Malfoy was still there. She gazed at her redheaded boyfriend lovingly and shook her head no. "Come on, let's get away from him."

Neither Draco nor Harry said a word, instead they just glared at each other half-heartedly.

Perhaps he couldn't fix the things he did.

  
•••

 

The next days were torture. His former victims were ganging up on him, insulting him. This was something nobody would have believed to witness only a few years prior. Draco Malfoy was a victim of bullying. He could not concentrate during his classes, as there were constantly new notes on his desk. After he opened the second one of them, he ignored the rest. He never knew how cruel people could be. How cruel he was. He sighed.

When the class was over, he waited until everyone left the room, so he wouldn't get tripped while leaving. Much to his dismay, one person stayed behind. It was [Y/N].

"What do you want?", he drawled, not in the mood to deal with more bullshit. Much to his surprise, she only sighed and walked over to him before sitting down on his desk.

"Don't listen to them, they're all assholes. In truth, I don't think that they really mean everything they say - it's just... so many people died and they lost so many friends, they need someone to blame-" The moment she put her hand on his shoulder to show him her sympathy, he pushed her away.

_"Don't bloody touch me."_

After storming out of the classroom, he realized that this was the first time this year someone was actually friendly to him.

 

•••

 

Days turned to weeks, weeks to months. The young Malfoy grew cold, colder than he ever was before. It was an unusually hot summer. Everyone was wearing t-shirts or had their sleeves rolled up. Needless to say, Draco was sweating like there was no tomorrow.

"Come on, Malfoy! Show us what'cha got! Or are you too scared?"

"Aww, look! The little baby is scared!"

"Must be really hot in that long shirt, right?"

"Yeah right, it's not like you've got to hide anything, we all know what's on your arm!"

He couldn't even enjoy a free day at the lake. The shady places under the trees were all already taken, forcing him to sit in the sun. And boy, was it hot. After clenching and unclenching his fists several times, he had enough. Fine, they'd get what they want. The blonde male was tired of hearing the same shit every day. Placing his hands on both ends of his sleeves, he shoved them up, his body immediately feeling a lot better. Everyone stared at his left arm, shocked that he really did it.

_Just leave me alone..._

"Oi! Shut up, you gits!" Shyly lifting his head, he saw her again - the girl that sat with him in the train and offered her help. She was stomping over to his aggressors and shouting at them as if there was no tomorrow. Since they respected her and - let's be honest here - she could be really scary when angered, they quickly apologized and left. With an innocent smile, she turned around and waved at him. Why was she being so nice to him?

•••

 

Since that day, he didn't even attempt to hide the Dark Mark any longer. Every night, he cast the same spell over and over again, not even bothering to use Muffliato (the muffling spell) on his curtains to prevent anyone hearing him. He didn't care. Everybody was supposed to be asleep.

"Vulneras...vulneras... _vulneras_..." Harry kept hearing him say this word over and over again, until- "Vulnera Sanentur." A spell to heal wounds.

Shaking his head, he couldn't take it anymore. Standing up, he walked over to Draco's bed, shoving the curtains aside to reveal a very dishevelled young man with pale blonde hair and a wand with a glowing tip in his right hand. Too shocked to move, Draco did not think about the light waking others in the room until he heard an angry " _Bloody hell_ , what's wrong with you?" from a certain redhead. Ron sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking around and when he saw Harry standing at Malfoy's bedside, he quickly rose and staggered over to his friend.

"Harry, everything alright? Did this git try to get you or anything?" The addressed boy shook his head and stepped aside, allowing Ron to see Draco staring up at them with red, glassy eyes, only dressed in some shorts since it was so hot. His mouth was opened slightly, trying to form any coherent words and failing miserably. The redhead's gaze dropped down to his left arm, the mark automatically drawing his attention. However, there was something different about it this time. Angry red lines were littered all over the Dark Mark, disappearing quickly, thanks to the healing spell. Soon, they were gone and the only signs showing what happened before were the red splatters on his bed.

"I-I..." Draco's face was even paler than usual. Great, now they had something else to tease him about.

"Uhm, we won't tell anyone, _right_ , Ron?" Harry cast a glance at his friend to make sure he got the point. There was no need to kick someone who was already lying defenceless on the ground. The three of them agreed to leave the dorm room, so they wouldn't wake anyone. They sat down in the unique common room for every sixth and seventh year student; and then they talked, knowing that it was necessary after all these years. They talked about all kinds of things. The war, the Dark Lord, their parents or lack thereof. Draco even apologized to both of them, surprising them greatly.

That night did not change how Draco was treated, of course.

When Ron and Harry went upstairs, Draco got up from the green velvet couch and left the common room, knowing that he wasn't able to fall asleep again. His muscles ached for a reason unknown to him and he felt mentally exhausted. A silent voice in his head begged him to rest, but he did not obey. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, showing off how sleep deprived he truly was. It wasn't a surprise, really, seeing as the only thing he experienced at night were his loneliness and nightmares. Another sigh left his lips, his eyelids heavy. He knew, though. He knew better. He knew that his body would betray him the moment he touched his bed, making him wide awake and afraid that others would use the opportunity to take their revenge while he slept.

"Lumos." The halls were unusually dark at night, scaring many that broke the rule to stay inside after curfew - but not Draco... He had already seen the scariest thing there was, he has faced the darkest terrors of the magical world. Whenever he passed a portrait, the person in it told him to go back to his room and to turn the damn light off. Sneering at them, he continued his little journey, ignoring their banter and gossip behind his back.

_"They should ban him from this school - he is dangerous."_

_"Some say that he is still loyal to Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He might as well continue in his footsteps."_

Upon hearing those words, he almost snapped and yet, he managed to keep his calm demeanour. To escape their taunting lies, he quickened his pace, not caring where he ended up. When he finally stopped, Draco looked around, recognizing where he was in an instant. Five years ago, his face had the honour of getting to know Hermione's fist - right here. Deciding that he would stay here, he walked over to the stone pillars that stood on this elevation, leaning against the one closest to him before sliding down to the ground. Quiet sobs escaped him; no longer was he able to supress his feelings. The sound of crying felt so foreign in this quiet night that was filled with distant howls and the rustling of old trees.

An almost inaudible sound startled him, making him look up into the gentle [e/c] eyes of the only girl that treated him decently. He expected her to judge him for his weakness, but much to his surprise, she chose to sit down next to him, giving him a sad smile. No words were exchanged for the next fifteen minutes. Draco was getting impatient, her silence was unnerving him. Just on cue, she spoke up.

"You are the strongest person I know." He wanted to ask her what she meant, but his tongue felt as if it was made out of lead. She complimented him and he did not want to destroy this foreign feeling of happiness with his ugly words. Perhaps she didn't mean it, perhaps she was mocking him, perhaps she would explain what she meant and it would disappoint him if he expected something else. So when he stayed silent, she nodded understandingly, accepting his impassivity.

Both of them returned to their dorms as soon as the sun rose, not exchanging another word.

  
•••

He spent the next day - which was, by the way, as hot as it could be - at the lake after he was done with his classes. As always when it was hot, it was very crowded with students from all the different houses and years who were either enjoying the shadows beneath the trees or the cool water in the lake. Draco watched a group of girls and guys from the seventh year taking off their shoes and socks before running into the cool water, not caring if their pants got a little wet. They were not bathing of course as it was prohibited due to the dangers lurking in the deep waters, instead they were just walking through the chilly fluid to cool down their bodies.

"Hey [Y/N]! Come here, the water is amazing!" His gaze wandered over to the [h/c] haired girl sitting under a tree, a book in her hand. A friendly smile grazed her lips, her [e/c] eyes looking at her friends from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor which were currently standing knee-deep in the water.

"I'll pass", she replied softly, earning disappointed groans from her friends. Two of them walked over to her, extending a hand each to help her up. Confused, she accepted their help only yelp once they lifted her up and started sprinting towards the water. Eyes wide like saucers, she was thrown into the cold water. Luckily, she managed to land in a sitting position, so she wouldn't get wet from head to toe. A happy laugh escaped her and soon, all of her friends were laughing with her. The water she was sitting in went up to her elbows and ended right under her breasts which was a good thing considering that the white button-up shirt she was wearing was see-through when wet. A girl from Hufflepuff approached her and lent her a helping hand which she gladly accepted to get up.

"Hey, what's that?", she asked as soon as [Y/N] tried to squeeze the water out of the lower part of her shirt. The girl followed her gaze which landed on her left arm. A dark shadow was cast through her wet sleeves that she never bothered to roll up, claiming that her skin was as cold as stone anyway. She froze, her eyes widening in fear and not being able to move, she couldn't prevent the Hufflepuff-girl from grabbing her forearm and turning it around, so she could get a better look. Afraid that she hurt herself because she landed on a sharp stone or anything similar, she shoved the sleeve upwards. She gasped - as did everyone else in proximity.

[Y/N] [L/N] had a Dark Mark. The nicest person there was in Slytherin, the one who didn't give two flying shits about bloodstatus, was a Death Eater.

The girl staggered backwards, promptly falling into the water again. Nobody said a word.

  
•••

The next few days were really awkward. Nobody knew how to treat her now. Her friends weren't sure if the mark on her arm justified any change in the relationships between them. At dinner, everyone nervously scooted away from her when she sat down. Nobody dared to approach her to talk about their personal problems anymore. One day, [Y/N] had enough: She confronted her friends and acquaintances - every single one - and asked them about the way they saw her now - and every single person said that they were okay with it as long as her personality didn't change. The girl explained to them that, much like most of her fellow Death Eaters, she was forced to follow the Dark Lord; this fact relieved all of the people she talked to, especially the muggleborns. When she realized that everyone treated her with distance because of group pressure, she summoned up all her courage to walk over to the podium in the Great Hall during dinner. With a shaky voice, she asked everyone why they thought of her as a completely different person now - a stranger even. Nobody answered her, instead they just hung their head low in shame.

They all knew about the ways true followers of the Dark Lord 'recruited' new members. Persuation through torture and threats. Sure, every Death Eater, no matter opposed to the ideals of Voldemort they were, was forced to act the way your everyday Death Eater was supposed to and they eventually caught on to that behaviour ~~*cough cough* Malfoy *cough*~~ \- but [Y/N] managed to avoid most of it.

She was surprised that the teachers and the headmistress McGonagall didn't interrupt her, but watched her with interest instead.

When she saw everyone's reactions, she became more confident. "This mark on my arm", she rolled up her sleeve and raised her hand, showing it to everyone, "does _not_ change who I am. You know that. You know how I am. I would never harm anyone because of their 'bloodstatus' - it is bullshit. You know you can trust me... and I can trust you. So, everyone, can we agree on that?" Everyone nodded. Relief washed through her as she walked down the stairs to join the others at her table, [Y/N] was glad that every person in this room understood her predicament. Which made her think about...

The girl froze, stopping halfway down the stairs. "...this isn't just about me." Everyone's head turned, their gaze landing on Malfoy who looked away in shame.

 

•••

[A/N: I highly recommend to listen to this for this part until the next ••• : [www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8JtoBE5...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8JtoBE5qHM) ]

Of course, everyone kept treating him like shit behind [Y/N]'s back. And thus, he continued harming himself every night with the only difference being the usage of the Muffliato spell beforehand. It was autumn and her life was back to normal. She was happy that her friends were so forgiving - what she didn't know was that Draco Malfoy's condition had worsened significantly. Nobody noticed this since he had the perfect mask - after all, this was something he had done for years and excelled at: Hiding his emotions, his true self and not letting anyone in.

It was a nice Sunday afternoon and [Y/N] was sitting alone under a fairly large tree at the Black Lake; everybody else was in Hogsmeade. She chose to lean against the bark of the tree that was facing away from the school, so nobody would see her. Usually, she appreciated the company of her friends, but sometimes it was just too much and she would hide to get some time for herself. The [h/c] haired girl enjoyed the peacefulness and the serenity that the nature around her offered. However, she wasn't able to relax for a long time.

Without turning her head, she listened to a pair of footsteps getting closer. Not wanting to be discovered, she didn't make a sound and yet she almost blew her cover when platinum coloured hair entered her field of vision. Draco seemed to not have noticed her, for he walked past the tree without acknowledging her. She quickly noticed that he really did not see her, for he began sobbing with his back turned to her, thinking he was alone.

"Why is this not working anymore?", he quietly said to himself, his voice quivering as more tears streamed down his face. His right hand was gripping onto his left arm so hard that his knuckles turned white. Between his fingers, blood started tainting his white shirt, dripping onto the ground. Without wasting time, he fished his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at his bloodied Dark Mark. " _V-Vu-Vulnera Sanentur..._ " [E/c] eyes wandered down his arm, seeing that the blood on his sleeve disappeared. It looked like it was literally sucked back into his arm. _He has been doing this for a long time. Too long._ However, it didn't take long for his injuries to show up again. _The spell isn't working anymore._

[Y/N] realized that she wasn't supposed to see this and since she was a very considerate person, she wanted to spare him of the humiliation of being caught in this state and decided to sneak away and talk to him later. Unfortunately, she stepped on her robe as she was about to get up, resulting in her crashing onto the ground right behind him. Draco whipped around, his reddened eyes widened. Different emotions swirled in them - shock, humiliation, anger and sadness. Too caught up in this situation, he did not manage to hide them.

Steely eyes met her [e/c] ones. It felt as if she was suffocating. All his misery came crashing down on her. Without hesitation, she got up, making Draco flinch, thinking he was about to be laughed at. As she wrapped her [s/c] arms around his torso, he realized that she was different from everyone else. She was there for him.

As if he wasn't shocked enough, she began crying. Crying for him, crying because she wasn't able to see the things that went wrong, things she could have changed. In this moment, both of them realized that they shouldn't have been so blind. Draco could've talked to her and she would have listened. [Y/N] should have asked him about how he felt. Soon, both of them crashed to the ground, hugging each other and sobbing.

They knew.

They knew how it felt to be forced to kill innocents.

To follow the Dark Lord's orders.

To hide from everyone.

Yes, [Y/N] was friendly, rather popular amongst the more introverted students and always there to help - that didn't change the fact that she hid her mark from her friends. She hid herself, her - more or less - true identity.

After a couple minutes, they calmed down and sat side by side under the tree, enjoying the view; Draco's arm had stopped bleeding by now. No words were exchanged between them for the whole time - they didn't need to. Draco never felt so understood in his whole life...but still, [Y/N] - or anyone else for that matter - would never truly understand what happened. She would never be able to grasp the whole concept, as she couldn't see the whole story through his eyes.

His eyes...

An idea struck him. Perhaps, if she was willing to help him, if she was willing to _truly_ _understand_...

Draco cleared his throat. "Do you trust me?" Turning his head, he looked at her, waiting for her answer and never breaking eye-contact.

"Yes."

"...can I trust you?"

She smiled at him. "Did I ever give you a reason not to?" [Y/N] was right. He could trust her - he knew it. Call him crazy, but he actually _knew_ that she would never betray him. Standing up, he offered her his hand to get up which she gladly accepted.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the spell to read someone's mind, right?"  [Y/N] nodded. "Good. Pull out your wand."

The girl paled, not believing what he wanted her to do. "A-Are you sure about this? I mean, I want to understand and I want nothing more than to help you, it's just... These are your most intimate thoughts and memories. Do you really trust me _that_ much?"

He let out a strangled laugh, sounding more like a trapped animal than anything else. "Everybody at this school hates me. Some even want me dead. My family treats me like a failure. You have no idea what I've been through this school year - not sleeping at night, barely eating, never resting. There is something different about you. You're not one of those people who try to gain someone's trust only to abuse it to hurt them. Quite frankly, I don't even care if you are and you're just good at hiding it, because you're the last person I can talk to. And if this last attempt fails, nobody will have to worry about me anymore."

With horror, she realized that he was talking about suicide. If she hadn't stumbled and reveal her presence earlier, it might have been too late. _He wanted to kill himself, right here..._

Upon seeing her widened eyes, he chuckled humourlessly, as if all of this was a joke. Not wanting to talk about that specific sensitive topic, she avoided it altogether by saying: "Alright, if you really want me to do this..." She pulled out her wand and pointed it at Draco. "Legilimens."

_Horrendous pictures filled her mind. Screams pierced her very soul._

_First year. Draco stood in front of Harry. Rejected. His fake friends - 'recruited' by his father._

_Second year. Draco as a Seeker. Disappointing his father and his team. Damn Potter..._

_Third year. The Hippogriff. How he had pretended to be seriously hurt, so he had someone's actual attention for once. Even if it was only Pansy._

_Fourth year. Potter stinks. The humiliation he had to endure when he was turned into a ferret. The Yule Ball in which he had to accompany Pansy because his father said so._

_Fifth year. Umbridge. Only joining her side, so he would get rewarded and praised for once..._

_Sixth year. The Dark Mark. Voldemort. Dumbledore._

_The pictures grew darker and darker, showing his encounters with the Dark Lord, how he was abused and tortured just for other people's entertainment. Trained to be a Death Eater. To kill. Emotionless._

A tear slid down her cheek, followed by another. And another...

_She saw everything. The sadistic smile Voldemort was giving him and his parents, knowing that he wouldn't be able to kill Dumbledore and thus fulfil his task._

_The way his parents always scolded him, all his life._

_How he was pushed away by his own 'friends'._

_Always being a shadow._

_He wished to make it all stop. To be another person._

 

_Never loved, never cared for. Always abused, scolded and treated like a dog._

 

_... More images kept filling her mind, one more terrifying and saddening than the other._

She couldn't take it anymore. Breaking the link to his mind, she let her wand fall into the dry grass below. Draco, who had previously stood in front of her, had collapsed to the ground as he re-experienced all the memories she saw. Taking a deep breath, she crouched down in front of him and caressed his cheek, wiping his tears away. He flinched and turned his head away, his eyes forcefully closed.

"Oh Draco... I know that I cannot express how sorry I am with any words or gestures. You truly are the strongest person I know, and yet, you shouldn't have suffered like this. Draco..." She crashed down onto her knees and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him into her embrace, his head right above her heart. Not once in her life she had heard such heart-breaking and despaired sobs. "I am here for you, I will protect you."

He took comfort in her honest words and her caring gestures. It felt so good to have someone who listened, who cared and understood him. [Y/N]'s embrace was strong like steel, never letting him go. He was grateful for that.

 

•••

 

He slept peacefully that night. His arm unharmed. His mind - tranquillity. Of course he had a nightmare, like he always did. However, this time, [Y/N] came to his rescue in this dream, protecting him like she promised she would.

When he woke, the slightest of smiles graced his lips. Today would be different, he wouldn't have to hide anymore. Getting up, he stretched and got dressed, left his dorm room and waited downstairs for her. After a couple of minutes, she greeted him with a small wave and smiled at him, asking him how he slept. The [h/c] haired girl was happy to hear that he did not wake up a single time this night, she also noticed that his eye bags had lessened ever so slightly. Together, they left the common room and entered the Great Hall for breakfast, talking about essays and upcoming tests along the way. Draco had agreed to help her with potions and in return, [Y/N] promised him to help him write his charms essay.

As soon as they sat down together, everyone's eyes were on them. Feeling quite uncomfortable, Draco shifted slightly under their pressuring gazes. She sensed his uneasiness and laid her hand on top of his, looking into his eyes.

"Don't mind them. Enjoy your meal!"

 

The next few weeks were pure serenity for Draco. He would always talk to [Y/N] about Quidditch and how he planned to apply as a seeker again. Eventually, her friends would join them during the meals and sit next to both Draco and [Y/N]. It didn't take them long to warm up to him and get to know him for who he truly was. As time passed, the young Malfoy became less depressed and he began to enjoy life again - thanks to his best friend.

One day, they were hanging around in the common room, when the Golden Trio approached them. Alarmed, the young woman turned around, ready to defend Draco, should they insult him.

"We're sorry... We had no idea and we probably should have been a lot nicer... I think you're a good person if you want to be, Mal- uhm... _Draco_ ", Harry spoke quietly. His two friends nodded and looked at the ground, feeling awkward.

Indeed, he owed [Y/N] a lot.

 

•••

 

[Another recommendation: [youtu.be/CDdvReNKKuk?t=50s](https://youtu.be/CDdvReNKKuk?t=50s) In this case, listen to it until the end. Sorry for making you click on links.]

When winter came, he was back to normal again. Not the old 'I am better than thou' normal - he was a lot friendlier and he had abandoned the idea of valuing someone's abilities according to their bloodstatus, even if it was hard at first. The dark circles beneath his eyes had vanished completely and he looked a lot healthier, he even befriended several people from - believe it or not - _different_ houses and had some secret admirers.

"I've never thanked you for what you did for me", he said one evening, his cold hands holding onto the railing of the Astronomy Tower. It was already dark and millions of stars watched them from above.

She smiled at him. "Yes, you did not thank me with your words. However, your actions show me what thousand words cannot express. I am happy that you're happy."

"And for that, I am grateful." He smiled back at her, "But please, allow me to show you my gratitude."

"If you insist."

Closing his eyes, his very heart ignited itself as soon as his icy lips touched hers. Draco Malfoy felt complete.

 

They stayed there, embracing each other until the sun rose. Golden rays of sunlight lightened up the scenery - it was a beautiful sight.

"We should probably go and eat breakfast or else our friends will miss us", she said, breaking the peaceful silence. Draco nodded and followed her down the steps, not able to get this wide grin off his face. It took them several minutes until they arrived at the Great Hall, hand in hand. As soon as they entered, every single person stopped whatever they were doing. The laugher and vivid talking died down in an instant, some even spilled their drinks.

Both the former most despised and the most loved Slytherin found love.

 

Everyone stood up.

Draco was afraid - would they reject him... again?

 

They cheered. Cheered for him and for her.

[Y/N] turned to him. "I love you."

 

And he cried...

 

... he cried _happy tears_.

**Author's Note:**

> So, my first Harry Potter fanfiction and my first FF on this website in general. I really hope you liked it and *please* a comment only takes up half a minute to write, take your time.  
> I LITERALLY sat here for DAYS, writing this oneshot to make it as good as it can be. And, oh boy, it was tiring. Oh well, it is finished now.
> 
> Please notify me if you found any grammar mistakes or typos in general - you see, I am not a native English speaker and confuse some of our phrases with English ones and mix them up...


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